1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to convertible garments, more particularly to an upper torso garment and lower torso garment that can be folded and converted into a self-contained pouch in order to be easy to use, carry and travel with.
2. Description of the Related Art
People who are enjoying the sun and the water usually are doing so on vacation or after having planned an outing at the beach or by the pool. In these situations, swimwear is the appropriate article of clothing to wear and, at times, it is the most amount of clothing worn. However, when off the beach, social mores, public rules and convention require people to cover up in public. For example, many restaurants require patrons to be clothed before entering their establishment. These minor distractions from the main purpose of the trip, which is to be in the sun or the water, require one to find garments to put on and cover up the body.
Covering up should be effortless and as easy as possible, in order to make the transition from on-beach to off-beach attire quick. However, most outer garments are bulky, and it is an inconvenience to carry them to the beach. It is often an annoyance to have to go back to one""s hotel or motel room to change into outer garments. The transition is further made difficult by cover up apparel that absorb water and sun tan lotion.
Many women and young girls like to wear bikinis or two piece bathing suits at the beach or pool. In recent years, thong bikinis have become popular. While fashionable at the beach, such outfits are inappropriate for wear on the public streets. Some modest form of lightweight outer garment, such as a pair of shorts or a mini-skirt with a matching top, which can be folded into a small pouch not much larger than the palm of the hand for storage and transport, would be desirable. It is further desirable that the garment be fashionable, and appropriate for summerwear or activewear.
Further, in order to maximize space during travel, articles of clothing that are multifunctional or that can be easily folded and carried are desirable. Convertible garments have been developed which convert clothing for the lower body to clothing for the upper body, to convert long garments into shorter garments, to convert pants to skirts and even jackets into bags.
French Patent Number 2,589,334, published on May 7, 1987, describes a jacket that is convertible into a bag. The jacket is converted into a purse by two pockets that are zippered on all four edges. The purse provides a zippered pocket on the purse""s external panel and it has a strap to hold the purse across the wearer""s body. French Patent Number 2,819,384 published on Jul. 19, 2002, describes a convertible first garment having a pouch to hold a second outwear garment that can be worn over the first garment.
A number of convertible articles of clothing have been developed that allow the article to be used for more than one purpose. U.S. Patent Publication Number 2002/0088047, published on Jul. 11, 2002, describes a convertible article of clothing that can be worn either on the upper body or the lower body. U.S. Pat. No. 4,106,125, issued to Palumbo on Aug. 15, 1978 describes a skirt or dress that can be converted into shorts or pants, and vice versa, by joining front and rear panels at the crotch region.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,774,892, issued to Tisdale et al. on Jul. 7, 1998, describes convertible clothing that uses zippers to transform pants and long-sleeved shirts into shorts and short-sleeve shirts, respectively. European Patent Number EP 1,149,539, published on Oct. 31, 2001, describes a trouser that is convertible into a skirt by selectively fastening vertical edges of the leg sleeves.
Jackets that convert into other articles are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,103,377, issued to Mayer et al. on Aug. 1, 1978 (parka that doubles as a sleeping bag); U.S. Pat. No. 5,815,833, issued to Kuo on Oct. 6, 1998 (three in one article that converts to a sleeping bag, a jacket and a carrying bag); U.S. Pat. No. 4,347,629, issued to Itoi on Sep. 7, 1982 (jacket that can be converted into a bag); U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,111, issued to Lieberman on Nov. 24, 1992 (jacket integrated into a back pack and used in conjunction with the backpack while it is worn); U.S. Pat. No. 5,860,164, issued to Johnson on Jan. 19, 1999 (multi-purpose garment convertible into a tote-bag or back-pack); U.S. Pat. No. 6,405,377, issued to Davis on Jun. 18, 2002 (jacket convertible into a tote-bag or back-pack).
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a summerwear garment convertible into a pouch solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
The summerwear garment convertible into a pouch is a pair of shorts or a mini-skirt which is convertible into a pouch, together with a matching top which can be folded and stored in a pocket on the shorts or skirt in order to be easy to use, carry and travel with. The shorts or skirt has a pair of matching pockets on opposite sides. The two pockets each have an open top side and three edges that are fixed to the sides of the lower torso garment. Each pocket has corresponding zipper stringers bordering the three fixed side edges. When the zipper stringers are mated, the three edges of both pockets abut the other to form a pouch containing the folded lower torso garment and the upper torso garment. Women would use the lower torso garment and the upper torso garment combination; if desired, men could use the lower torso garment alone, or also in combination with a top.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a summerwear garment convertible into a pouch that is small and easy to carry and travel with.
It is another object of the invention to provide a summerwear garment convertible into a pouch that is thin and flexible enough to be folded into a pouch to take up very little space so it can be easy to carry and travel with.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a summerwear garment convertible into a pouch that is quick-drying and wrinkle-free.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a summerwear garment convertible into a pouch that is fashionable and easy to use.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.